


Tests

by LittleSass



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:35:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSass/pseuds/LittleSass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christen and Julie have been dating for a few months now and things seem to be going well. However once things start going downhill, they have to rely on their friends in hopes that they can help them get through everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! So here's the first chapter of the story I was thinking about. It may be slow and a little boring at first but I need to introduce the characters and how they know each other since it will be slightly AU. Let me know what you think and if I should continue.

"Leave me alone." The sleeping blonde groaned, trying to pull the blanket back over her head.

"You said you were going to take a quick nap. Two hours is not a quick nap."

"Let me sleep."

"Our friends are going to be here soon."

"Tell them to go away."

"It was your idea to have them over, Julie."

Julie Johnston felt the bed dip as her girlfriend sat down, pulling the blanket away from her. A sleepy smile appeared on her face as the other girl began brushing the hair away from her face. She scooted over in bed and pulled her girlfriend into her arms.

"Can't we just stay here, Chris?"

"As nice as that would be, the answer is no." Christen Press answered, extracting herself from her girlfriend and turning to pull the other girl up. "Now go freshen up and then meet me living room. Moe and I have been cleaning up while you were sleeping."

Just before Christen could leave, she felt Julie pull her back for a deep kiss that stole the brunette's breath away.

"Are you sure we still can't tell them to go away?"

"Get ready." Christen whispered and with that she was out of the room.

Christen and Julie met through some friends a few years back. They instantly clicked and it didn't take long for them to become best friends. It wasn't until just a few months ago that they started dating.

They had a very cliche story. One best friend fell for the other while the other was already dating someone. In this case, Christen had fallen for her best friend while Julie had a boyfriend. So the older girl was subjected to painfully watching and wanting the relationship that she believed would never happen. Now where Christen was quite comfortable with her sexuality, Julie had a bit more trouble coming to terms with the possibility that she may be gay.

When Julie and her boyfriend broke up, the blonde had told her that it was because she wanted to give the two of them a shot. And that's how they got to where they are now.  
It was nice. It wasn't too awkward since they had been friends for years and were already totally comfortable with one another. There were moments when Julie hesitated considering that she never had a girlfriend before but it slowly turned to Julie initiating contact with Christen.

"She lives!" Julie's roommate, Morgan Brian, sarcastically exclaimed.

"Oh, shut up, Moe." The taller girl rolled her eyes before going over and wrapping her arms around Christen from behind, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Morgan and Julie had known each other growing up. They were neighbors who bonded over their mutual love for soccer. They spent so much time playing for the same club teams and hanging out at the other's house. It didn't matter that Julie was a year older, they were still best friends.

When Julie left for college, many tears were shed between the two. They had become so accustomed to always having the other by their side that the thought of being away actually terrified them. On the day Julie left, they promised each other that they would be still be best friends. That promise was fulfilled when Morgan joined Julie at college the next year.

Now, it would be difficult for them to picture their life without the other. Morgan was the sister Julie always wanted. Not to say that Julie didn't love her actual sister because she did, but Morgan just understood Julie in ways no one else would. Morgan felt the exact same way with Julie.

"Is that any way to talk to your favorite roommate?"

"You're not my favorite. Did you forget that Chris lives with us?"

"Fine. Is that any way to talk to your childhood best friend."

"Yes."

"You're so mean." Morgan grumbled.

At that moment the door bell rang and Christen excused herself from the bantering friends to go answer it. "Hey Kelley." Christen pulled one of her best friends from college into a hug. "No Hope today?"

Kelley shook her head. "Nope. Carli's in town for a few days so Hope wanted to show her around. But I hope it's okay if I brought someone else."

"Who?"

"Just an old friend."

It was then that Christen heard a car door close. Once the stranger came into view, Christen couldn't stop herself from running and jumping into their arms with a smile. "Tobin!"

"Hey Press." Tobin chuckled as she caught the other girl.

"I can't believe you're here." Christen stated as she returned to her own two feet. "Why didn't you tell me you were in town!"

"I just got in and thought it would be a nice surprise. It's been awhile." The brunette slapped her friend's arm. Tobin began rubbing the now irritated spot. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Of course it's been awhile. You've been gone for two years."

Tobin shrugged and offered sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You're going to tell us all about it later. I'm just so glad you're here." Christen said as she pulled her old friend into another hug.

"Don't forget about me. Group hug." Kelley shouted as she joined the other two.

The three of them had met back in their freshman year of college when they were all roomed together. They went from three strangers to friends fairly quickly despite their differences in personalities. Press was the more serious of the three sometimes putting more pressure on herself than necessary. Kelley O'Hara was the joker of their little group, always looking for fun things to do to relieve any college stress. And Tobin Heath was the laid back one who helped remind them not to take things so seriously all the time.

They had all played on the college soccer team back then. The team offered them full scholarships to college that was too good for the girls to pass up. Kelley and Christen never really planned on going professional after college and were focused on getting a degree. Tobin on the other hand was hoping that this would be the first step in pursuing her dream of making it to the pros.

It worked well for all of them. They graduated, staying friends all four years and Tobin's hard work payed off when she was called into camp for the women's national soccer team. After college, Kelley and Christen moved in together while Tobin went to follow her dream. They kept in touch with the midfielder as much as possible and went to watch Tobin play whenever they got the chance to.

Later on Kelley moved in with her current girlfriend, Hope Solo, leaving Christen without a roommate. The former striker then moved to a smaller apartment for herself where Tobin would crash at whenever she was in the area. As well as playing for the USWNT, the past two years Tobin had been playing with PSG in Paris. Because of this, the two had seen Tobin a lot less.

But now they were back together.

"We really missed you, Tobs." Christen declared as she hugged the girl tighter.

"I missed you guys too. But I have some great news."

They all pulled apart so that they could properly look at each other.

"Well what is is?" Kelley asked.

"I'm coming back to the States to play in the NWSL."

"Really? That's so great! We'll get to see you more."

"Yeah, Tobs. It would be so nice to have you around more often." Christen added. "Now let's go inside. We still have a lot to catch up on."

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few introductions before dinner time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you all are interested in this. I think I figured out what direction I'm taking with this story. So be prepared because it may not be in the direction you were expecting. And thank you!

"So Tobs, where you going to be playing?" Kelley asked as Christen led them into the apartment.

"Portland. It's about a two hour flight from here so I'll definitely be able to visit you guys more."

"Yeah or Kell and I can could always head up there to see a game or two." Christen suggested.

"That would be awesome. You guys would do that for me?"

"Course. And if we can't get a flight then we'll drive up there. Right Chris?" The brunette nodded her head furiously. "Can't have you winning games without your best friends there supporting you."

"You two are the best."

"We know." They replied at the same time.

By then, they finally reached the living room. Kelley went to hug Julie while Christen and Tobin went over to Morgan.

"Hey, Moe." Tobin greeted as she hugged the younger girl.

Morgan had recently gotten the call up to the senior team and her first cap not too long ago. She and Tobin became friends pretty quickly due to their similar laid-back personalities and mutual friend Lauren Cheney.

"Hey, Tobin. Did I hear you were going to play in Portland?"

"Yeah. Just finished up with PSG. I'm going to head up and get a few games in with the Thorns before the season ends, but I came to visit Kelley and Press for a few days first."

"That's great."

"Thanks. How's school?"

"School's school. What do you expect?" To which Tobin answered with a shrug.

"Alright, Tobs. There is someone I want to introduce you to." Christen said, as she grabbed Tobin's hand and pulled her over to the blonde girl on the other side of the room. "Tobin, this is my girlfriend, Julie. Julie, Tobin."

Despite knowing Christen for a few years and Morgan's recent call up to the national team, Julie never really met Tobin. On the inside she was freaking out a little to know that standing in front of her is a two-time gold medalist in the sport she loved.

"Wow, it's so nice to meet you. I've watched you play on TV and you are amazing." Julie stated a little starstruck before sticking her hand out for Tobin to shake.

Tobin took Julie's hand and gave it a firm shake. "Um, thanks. You play?"

Julie stared at her shoes sadly. "I did before I got hurt."

"Oh, shoot. Sorry. I didn't know."

Christen took her girlfriend's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The former defender gave her girlfriend a small smile before turning back to Tobin. "It's okay, life happens. I'm just happy Moe still gets to play. I know that she'll be great."

The three heard the doorbell ring and Julie excused herself to go answer it.

The midfielder then turned her attention back to Christen, rubbing the back of her neck "So, girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah, we've been dating a few months now, but sometimes I feel like it's been so much longer. We already know just about everything about the other because we were such good friends."

"And she's good to you?"

Christen was a little surprised at the question, so she tried to get a read of her friend. However the older girl refused to look at her. "Of course."

"That's great, Chris." Tobin said as she swings her right leg back and forth, watching her shoe slide across the floor.

"What's wrong?" Christen asked, sensing that something was going on with the other girl.

"Nothing." The former PSG player shrugged.

"Tobin..."

"Don't worry about it, Chris." Tobin muttered as she heard Julie coming back to the room with more people. She walked away from Christen and over to Kelley who wanted to introduce her to the women who just walked in.

The former Stanford grad couldn't shake the feeling that something might be wrong, but she pushed it aside for now when she noticed that Julie had walked in with more friends trailing behind her.

Kelley began introducing Tobin to Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, and Meghan Klingenberg. Apparently Chris and Kell met Ali and Ashlyn in an adult league that they played in on the weekends when they could. It wasn't that surprising to Tobin as she knew her friends were ready to give up soccer altogether. And Meghan, Kling as they called her, was a close friend of Moe's.

"So what's for dinner?" Ashlyn asked.

"Well the chef was just awoken not long before you got here, so she's gonna have to go and get started." Christen sent a pointed look at Julie.

"Guess that's my cue. Feel free to watch TV or something." Julie then heads into the kitchen and begins pulling things out of the fridge. She jumped and almost dropped everything when she closed the door and found her girlfriend standing there. "Geez babe. Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry. I just thought you could use some company."

Julie laid all the stuff down before pulling her girl in for a kiss. "Well aren't you sweet. So you want to help?"

"How about we avoid that kitchen disaster in front of our friends and I'll just sit here and look pretty?" The brunette chuckled before hoisting herself onto the counter.

"Well you're always good at that."

From the looks of it, it looked like Julie was making chicken parmigiana which is probably one of Christen's favorite meals that JJ makes. She watched with a smile on her face as Julie went back and forth between preparing the chicken and the sauce.

After a little while, she glanced over to the living room and saw her friends having a good time. Kelley seemed to be listening to Ashlyn talking about her tatoos and Morgan and Tobin were laughing at something Ali had said. It was nice to see everyone together and getting along.

Christen was pulled from the scene, when she felt a tap on her leg. Her girlfriend stood in between her legs with her hands placed on the counter on either side of her. "All done?"

"Chicken's in the oven and should be done in a few minutes." The former striker placed her arms on Julie's shoulder and intertwined her finger's behind Julie's neck. "You're so beautiful."

"I'm in my lazy clothes without any make up on." Christen deadpanned.

"Still beautiful." Julie replied before slowing leaning forward.

The older girl could feel her eyes fluttering close as she felt the other girl's approach. When Julie was but an inch away, she stopped. Christen didn't need to open her eyes to know that Julie was smirking. Instead, she just closed the gap herself.

Julie let out a small moan when her slightly chapped lips met Christen's soft ones. If she could, she would kiss those lips all day long. They were so sweet and addicting that Julie never wanted it to stop.

The Santa Clara student removed her hands from the counter and placed them on the brunette's hips before pulling their bodies closer. She felt a tongue tracing her bottom lip and immediately parted her lips so her own tongue could meet it. Another moan escaped her lips before she could stop it.

"Hey love birds! I don't need all that going on around my food." Ashlyn shouted from the living room, effectively cutting the kiss short.

Christen still with her back towards the group, hid her face in the crook of Julie's neck.

Julie made sure to catch her breath before responding. "I can do what I want. Did you forget whose place you're at?"

"Did you forget who us invited over?" Ashlyn countered.

"Did you forget who's making dinner?"

"Again, did you forget who invited us for dinner?"

"She's got a point. If you and Press wanted to get freaky, it would've been best not to invite friend's over." Kelley added.

"I'll keep that in mind." Julie mumbled.

The oven went off and Julie went to pull the chicken out. As she was grabbing plates to place the chicken and other food on, she felt a tug on her arm.

"We'll finish this later, Jules." Christen gave the girl a quick peck on the lips before gathering plates and silverware to set the table.

Julie felt a shiver run down her body at the thought.

"Dinner's ready. Come and get it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to help clear things up in case you're a little confused.  
> Right now the story is placed around June-July 2013.  
> For the sake of the story, Kelley, Christen, and Tobin went to Stanford and Morgan and Julie went to Santa Clara.  
> Hope that helps!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan needs some advice and decides to ask her best friend's girlfriend for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my next chapter. Someone was asking about Moe, so here it is. I hope you guys are enjoy it. Let me know if you do. The story will be picking up soon so better get ready. Thank you again for the support!

The next morning, Julie was in the kitchen making some breakfast. There was coffee and pancakes cooking. Not everyone knew Julie found cooking relaxing. It was something that she learned from her mother and it brought her some peace.

By the time that everything was done, her two roommates were just coming out of their rooms.

"Good morning." Julie placed two cups of coffee and a plate of pancakes in front of each girl. She then grabbed her own cup before taking a seat by her girlfriend.

"Morning. Pancakes!" Morgan excitedly began digging into her breakfast.

"Did you already eat?" Christen asked.

Julie nodded and then went on to tell them that she was meeting up with her sister in a little bit. She then excused herself and gave her girl a quick kiss before going to get ready leaving the two girls alone.

"Hey, Press. Can I ask you something?"

The older girl looked up from her plate. "Of course, Moe. What is it?"

Morgan opened her mouth before closing it again. She tried to formulate her words but was having a hard time. She kept looking around the room and fidgeting. Christen could tell something was bothering the girl in front of her.

After watching the younger girl struggle, Christen reached over and placed a hand on Morgan's arm in an attempt to get her to look at her. "Moe, whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm your friend and I want to help."

"How did you know that you liked girls?" Morgan blurted out finally.

Christen wasn't expecting that question, but she wasn't very surprised either. "Is this about Kling?"

Morgan's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "How did you know?"

"Please, Moe. It's actually quite obvious. The way you talk about her, the way you look at her, the way you are with her. You're not too subtle."

"I thought I was." Morgan grumbled.

"It's okay, Moe. I know what it's like to like a best friend."

"But what if she doesn't like me back?"

"I know that feeling too. It can be scary to know that you are falling for your best friend but not know if they feel the same way."

"How did you handle that with Julie?"

"It was hard. Julie's actually not the first one, but that's another story. Seeing her with Zach made me miserable beacuse I thought that she would never see me the same way that I saw her. She was so happy with Zach. You and I both saw it."

"You make her happy too, Pressy."

Christen grinned. "I do. And you can make Kling happy. You two are not in the same situation Jules and I were in. Zach and Julie had been together years before I even met you two. I didn't even know if she liked girls. But look at us now."

"What's it like to be dating your best friend?"

"I think it's one of the best things ever. With Jules I feel like I'm in a constant state of meditation. She grounds me and makes me feel relaxed. I can let go and be myself with her and not have to worry about a thing. Whenever she's around I feel safe and warm and happy."

"If that's not love, then I don't know what is." Morgan was in awe of the way that Christen was describing her feelings for Julie. If she were to take a chance with Meghan, she'd want to feel the way Christen feels with her best friend. "Aren't you afraid if things don't work out?"

"To tell you the truth, I am. Jules has become an important part of my life and I wouldn't want to imagine my life without her in it. I guess if anything goes wrong, I just hope that somehow we can remain friends."

"Would it be worth it?" Morgan questioned, genuinely curious to know.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not saying this to jinx you two or anything. I just want to know what I could be possibly getting myself into because I admire the relationship that you two have. I mean you went from strangers, to friends, to girlfriends. And as much as you never want to lose Julie, I never want to lose Kling."

"Okay..." Christen said trying to follow along.

"I guess what I mean is, if you were to ever lose Julie as a girlfriend and a friend, would being together have been worth it?"

As much as she didn't want to, Morgan's question really got Christen thinking. A bunch of scenarios began running through Christen's mind as well as a bunch of memories she shared with Julie over the years.

"You know what, Moe? The answer is yes. As devastated as I would be to lose her, all the memories and the way she made me feel would have been completely worth it. In my opinion getting to experience all of that would be better than always wondering what could have been. I know you're scared but I think you and Kling will make each other so happy. So I say take a chance. It may totally change your life."

Morgan took a deep breath as she processed her entire conversation with Christen. She got up to hug the older girl. "I think I know what I'm going to do. Thank you for helping me. You're the best."

"You're damn right I am. It's still too early to have this kind of conversation." Christen joked, which was indicated by the way she laughed afterward. "But in all seriousness, I'm glad to have helped. You are my friend and I'm here whenever you need me, okay?"

"Aww, I love seeing my best friend and my girlfriend sharing an intimate moment without me around." Julie said sarcastically as she walked back into the room dressed for the day.

Both Christen and Morgan rolled their eyes as they extracted themselves from one another. The older girl then made her way over to the blonde and pecked her lips. "Don't be jealous, baby. Moe and I were just having some girl talk."

"I'm a girl." Julie stated.

"I know, otherwise I wouldn't be dating you." Christen claimed.

Morgan laughed at that before excusing herself to her room.

Julie wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and reveled in feeling of having her in her arms. Nothing needed to be said for them to know what the other was thinking and feeling. A car horn from outside broke them from their temporary trance.

"That's probably my sister. I should get going." Julie announced.

"Okay. We're still going to the movies tonight, right?"

"Of course. Can't miss out on taking my girl on a date, now can I?"

"No you cannot."

Julie pressed one more kiss to Christen's lips before heading to the door.

"I'll see you tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in paradise comes in the form of an ex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Thanks again for all the support. Just a little heads up that things are picking up so prepare yourself. Enjoy!

"I thought that the movie was so cute." Christen gushed as she placed her tray of food down. 

"I will admit that it was pretty funny." Julie agreed as she took the seat across from her girlfriend. 

The two had watched Monsters University because Christen tended to like Disney and other kid's movies better than the critically acclaimed ones. Julie had laughed to herself when she saw how excited the older girl was for the movie. The brunette's full attention was on the movie, so Julie had just held her girlfriend's hand and tried not to get distracted. 

Once the credits were rolling, they decided to grab some food and In-N-Out sounded good to the both of them. Now they were digging into their food while talking about the movie.

"I still like Monsters Inc. better but this one was good." Julie stated as she took a bite of her burger. 

"Yeah. I love how everything makes sense now. Like the whole rivalry between Sulley and Randall. Or how Roz has actually been watching over them the entire time." Christen continued. 

"I'm glad you liked it."

The former striker reached over and placed a hand on top of Julie's. "Thank you for taking me."

"Anytime, babe. Anytime."

"Anyways how was your day with your sister?"

"It was good. You know we went out to eat and then walked around at the mall. Nothing really special. But that does remind me, Mel said hi and that you take too long to respond to her texts. She also wants to see you before she heads back."

"I will make a mental note to text her later. And your sister is so sweet. I love her."

"More than me?"

"But of course." Christen answered with a straight face. When Julie gasped, Christen laughed. "I'm just kidding. You know I love you more."

Julie pretended to breath a sigh of relief. "I just like hearing you say it."

The Stanford grad put down her burger and took both of Julie's hand in hers. "I love you, Jules." 

A huge smile appeared on the girl's face at the statement. She then leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her girlfriend's lips. 

This wasn't the first time that Christen has said I love you. It sort of slipped out one day when they were in their room. Julie was working on her paper for class and Press was reading a book. When she looked over, Christen couldn't help but stare at the blonde in awe. She looked so beautiful and the words just fell out of her mouth. It surprised the both of them, but the brunette quickly recovered and repeated it with more conviction. In her defense, Christen had fallen for Julie long before they had gotten together. Now she can say those words to her girlfriend whenever she wanted to.

Julie on the other hand, had yet to utter those three words. There was no pressure on Christen's end for her to say I love you. Christen understood that she had accepted her feelings for the blonde much earlier than Julie had for her. That however didn't stop her from telling Julie, and it didn't stop Julie from enjoying it. 

While Press' attention was elsewhere, the blonde reached over to steal some fries from her girlfriend's tray.

"Jules! Those are mine."

"But I finished mine." Julie pouted.

The older girl rolled her eyes before sliding the fries in between them so they could share before going back to her burger. 

Once they were done eating, Julie picked up both of their trays and dumped them out. She then proceeded to hold open the door for her girlfriend. Just as she was about to follow Christen to the car, she heard someone calling her name. 

They saw someone leaving a group and jogging over to them. Julie was the first to recognize who it was.

"Zach?"

The man slowed down to a stop right next to Julie with a smile on his face. "Yeah. Hey Julie."

"Uh, hi."

"I, uh, saw you and wanted to come say hi. How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. Chris and I were just grabbing a bite to eat."

It was then that the football player took notice of the other girl. "Oh, hey, Christen. Nice to see you."

"You, too, Zach." Christen responded, plastering a fake smile on her face for Julie's sake. To be honest, she felt completely awkward and uncomfortable standing there watching her girlfriend and her girlfriend's ex-boyfriend talking. However she kept quiet. 

Zach turned his attention back to Julie with a nervous smile. "Listen, I've been thinking over the last couple months. I think I made a huge mistake breaking up with you. I thought we both wanted different things, but I realized you were it for me."

Christen's eyes widened at this new information. Julie had told her that she was the one to break up with Zach. She was told that the reason for the break up was so that they could try out this thing between them. Not that Julie was the one who was broken up with. 

A bunch of thoughts and scenarios began running through Christen's mind and she couldn't stop them even if she tried. She tried to see through this but one thing stood out clearly in her mind. 

Julie had lied to her. 

She felt a range of emotions surging through her. First she felt angry, then hurt and confused, then betrayed, and then she was angry again. She refused to look at her girlfriend. Press could feel the tears welling in her eyes but didn't know if it was because she was devastated or because she was furious. 

Zach was still talking but Julie had zoned him out. Her main concern was Christen. She looked over at her girlfriend and knew she was in trouble. She began furiously looking back and forth between her girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend, not really processing what was going on until Zach said something that brought her back. 

"I want to give us another go, Julie. If you want that is."

Julie was shocked. She was not expecting to hear that. She was at a lost for words. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times until she just kept it shut. 

Seeing her girlfriend struggle to formulate a response infuriated Christen while at the same time tearing her up inside. She couldn't take it. She turned away from the scene and made her way to the car. 

The sight of her girlfriend walking away from her, sent Julie into panic mode. She started talking without thinkining. "I'm sorry, Zach, but I really have to go right now. Maybe we can talk later?"

The football player began rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh yeah, sure. Just, uh, give me a call. My number hasn't changed." 

The blonde gave him a quick nod before rushing off after Christen. She found her waiting at the car, fuming. Julie walked over and tried to reach for her. "Chris..."

Press jerked away from her. "I want to leave, Julie." She snapped. 

Julie visibly deflated, knowing that she had just dug herself into a hole she wasn't too confident she could get out of. She unlocked the car and made her way to the driver side. She started the car and peeked over at her girlfriend again. 

It wasn't hard for Julie to notice the unshed tears welling up in Christen's eyes. It broke her heart to know that she was the cause of this. She tried to hold hand again. 

Christen quickly pulled her hand out of reach. "Don't."

"Chris, I can explain."

"Just ." Christen commanded, her voice cracking a little.

The younger girl gave up and pulled the car out of the parking lot, driving them home in silence.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Christen finding out that Julie lied to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with another chapter. Hopefully you guys are still liking the story. Thank you again for reading it.
> 
> On another note: I'm so sad that they cancelled the game in Hawaii, but if it keeps the gals from getting hurt then I guess I'm okay with it. So sorry for any of you who were planning on going! But now I can't wait for the next game!

As soon as they arrived back at the apartment, Christen headed straight to their room. Julie flinched when she heard the door slam. She began pacing the living room, trying to give Christen a little more time to cool down and give herself more time to think about what to say.

About five minutes later, Julie decided to go in. She sees Christen standing by the window, but doesn't know how to approach her. She closes the door and just stops in the middle of the room.

"Christen." She called out.

"Why?" The brunette whispered.

"What?"

"You lied to me!" Christen shouted, voice cracking, turning around to face her girlfriend. "Why?"

The first thing Julie noticed, now that Christen was facing her, were the tears rolling down her girlfriend's face. Julie wanted nothing more than to step forward and wipe the tears away, but knew that Christen would stop her.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You deliberately lied to me, Julie. You lied to me, and now you're telling me that you don't even know why?"

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal. No one ever wants to admit that they've been broken up with." Julie argued.

"Not a big deal? This entire time, you've had me believing that you broke up with Zach because you wanted to be with me. But the truth is I was your second choice!" Christen shouted.

"That's not true."

"Yes it is!" Christen insisted as tears continued to stream down her face. "Our entire relationship has been based off a lie."

Julie began shaking her head. "No, no, no. You know how I feel about you, Chris."

"I thought I did. You know, I didn't care that you never said I love you back because I thought you just needed some more time to accept it. But now I'm starting to think that you never said it because you are still in love with Zach."

"How can you even think that?" Julie exclaimed, slightly hurt that Christen could even doubt her feelings for her.

Christen furiously began wiping at her falling tears before sarcastically replying. "I don't know. Maybe the fact that you neglected to mention to your ex-boyfriend how you were just finishing up a date with your current girlfriend."

"I told him that I was with you."

"Last thing he knew, I was just your best friend. He had no reason to think that we were anything more and you didn't tell him. He asked you out because he assumed you were still single. You didn't even bother mentioning that you and I were dating!  Are you embarrassed of me?" Christen demanded.

"No! Of course not."

"Then why didn't you say anything!" Christen screamed.

There was a tense silence that followed. Neither one said anything, just staring at one another. By now, Christen was a complete mess and Julie had tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall.

Christen was the first to break eye contact. She walked over to their bed and took a seat, elbows on her thighs and head in her hands. After taking a deep breath, Christen spoke again, this time much quieter. "The whole ride home, I couldn't get out of my own head, no matter how much I wanted to. A part of me was thinking that I may be overreacting a little bit but then I began doubting the entirety of our relationship."

That statement almost stopped Julie's heart. She began nibbling on her lower lip as she tilted her head towards the ceiling to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks.  
She knew it was a long shot but she took a chance and knelt before Christen.

"Chris." The brunette looked up. "I know I messed up. What do you want me to do?"

Ignoring the question, Christen continued speaking. "All I could think about was being your second choice. Before we started dating, I had come to terms with the fact that there was almost no possibility that you would like me back, but I still fell for you. I couldn't help it. When you told me that you wanted to take me on a date, I was thinking that this it was too good to be true. Being with you has been like a dream come true. Now I wonder how much of it was real."

"Baby, please. How do I fix this?"

"Look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that if Zach didn't break up with you, we would still be together right now." Christen pleaded as she began sniffling.

Julie didn't say anything. In truth, she wasn't sure. Breaking up with Zach allowed her to think about her feelings for Christen. Sure, she noticed them when she was with him, but she never really gave them much thought. She knew she couldn't lie, even if she knew it would break both of their hearts. 

"I can't." Julie stuttered.

With all the time she had in the car for thinking, she prepared herself for this. Hearing it though, was much harder than she thought. "I'm sorry. I just, I have to go." Christen said as she got up, grabbed her keys wallet and walked out.

It took a second before Julie processed that Christen was leaving, but when she did, she rushed out after her, catching her arm right before the older girl walked out the door.

"Christen, wait."

"I can't be here right now. I need to go."

"What about us?"

"I don't know." Christen whispered before pulling her arm free and walking out.

Julie stood there frozen, the only thing moving were the tears falling from her face, dripping to the floor beneath her.

She didn't know how long she stood there and she didn't really care. All she could think about was the fact that she and Christen might have just broken up. Julie barely registered a door opening and someone pulling her into a hug from behind.

With a slight turn of her head, she saw her best friend there. Julie appreciated the gesture but it didn't keep her from staring at the door that her possible ex-girlfriend had just walked out of.

Morgan stood there with her arms around her best friend and didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Moe had heard most of their argument and wanted to be there for her friend. The only thing the blonde needed right now was reassurance that she wasn't alone.

 

* * *

 

Kelley was sitting at the dinner table with Hope and Tobin. Tobin was telling Hope of some crazy things that they used to do back in college and Kelley couldn't help but laugh as she remembered it all.

When she heard the door bell ring, she excused herself to answer it. She was curious as to who it could be considering how late it was and the fact that none of them were expecting anyone. 

"Oh hey, Press." Kelley smiled before taking in her best friend's appearance. Her bloodshot eyes, quivering lip, and tousled hair were obvious signs that she had been crying. "Aww, babe, what happened?"

Instead of answering, Christen just walked into Kelley's arm, needing some comfort. With an arm pulling, the taller girl into her side, Kelley closed the door and led them over to the kitchen.

When they entered they caught the attention of the other two. As soon as they saw them, Tobin jumped out of her seat and took Christen from Kelley, leading them over to the couch in the living room.

Hope got out of her seat and walked over to Kelley. "What happened, Kell?" She whispered.

"I don't know. She didn't say. My guess is that it has to do with Julie, though."

"What makes you say that?"

"She mentioned that she and Julie had a date tonight."

"Guess, that makes sense. Well, your friend needs you, so I'll clean up here and then head to our room."

"Thank you."

"Anything for you." Hope said, kissing Kelley's cheek before the freckled girl joined her two friends in the living room.

Walking over to the couch she saw Christen curled up into Tobin's side, crying her eyes out as the midfielder rubbed her back and whispered that everything would be alright. Kelley joined them sitting on the other side of Christen. She leaned over and encompassed the crying girl in a hug. They knew they wouldn't be getting an explanation from her tonight so they were set on letting her cry it out now and finding out what happened tomorrow.

Eventually Christen had cried herself to sleep and the girls were ready to head to bed. Hope came out and helped them carry Christen into the guest bedroom that Tobin was using while Tobin offered to take the couch.

After placing the girl on the bed, Hope took Kelley's hand and led them to their room.

Tobin went over to the bed and pulled the blanket over younger girl, making sure that she was all tucked in. She then grabbed the extra pillow, but before she could leave she felt a hand grab hers.

"Toby, will you stay with me tonight." The sleepiness on her face mixed with her pleading eyes were enough to convince Tobin.

"Course." She replied. She put the pillow back down and climbed in next to her old friend.

Once settled in, Tobin turned over so that she was facing Christen, who was slowly falling back to sleep. The older girl reached under the blanket and grabbed the other girl's hand.

"It's going to be okay, Press. I'm here for you."

Christen smiled sleepily before drifting off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after, Kelley finds an unwanted visitor at her door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So I know that last chapter was pretty heart breaking, but it had to be done. I'm going to keep thanking you guys for everything, so thanks! Here's the next chapter.
> 
> Oh and I just created a tumblr. Not much on it right now but if you ever want to check it out or ask me anything or just talk about the USWNT you can find me as littlesass.

 

The next morning, Kelley was awoken by constant knocking on their front door. She tried to carefully untangle herself from Hope, but knew she failed when her girlfriend stirred. Hope always had a hard time going back to sleep if she was woken up.

"Go back to sleep, babe." Kelley said.

"Can't now." Hope grumbled, pulling Kelley back into bed before burying herself into the shorter girl's side. "Can we just stay in bed all day?"

"Hope Solo wanting to do nothing all day?"

"I never said anything about doing nothing all day." Hope quipped as her lips found their way to her girlfriend's neck and her hand wondered into the waistband of the girl's sleep shorts.

Kelley forgot why she was even woken up in the first place as she reveled in the feeling of her girlfriend's lips. A small moan escaped her before she was instantly reminded that someone was at the door by the incessant knocking.

The freckled woman groaned as she pulled her girlfriend's hand from her pants. She then kissed the pout off the older woman's face. "I'll be right back."

With that, Kelley walked out of their room and to the front door. When she opened it to a nervous Julie, she scowled. She didn't know what happened between the girl in front of her and her best friend in the other room, but at the moment she didn't need to. 

Before the blonde could say anything, Kelley slammed the door in the younger girl's face.

She was making her way back to her room but was stopped by her girlfriend who had seen the quick exchange. Hope was shaking her head at her and giving her a look that displayed her disappointment in her girlfriend.

"What?"

"Was that really necessary?" Hope inquired as the knocking continued again.

"Yes."

"Really, Kelley?" Hope crossed her arms and stared down at her girlfriend.

"You saw Press last night. Did you expect me to welcome the girl that did that to her with open arms?"

"No, but it's obvious that she's hurting too. Julie's still our friend."

"I don't care, Hope. Christen is my best friend."

"You don't even know what happened."

"Doesn't matter. She hurt my best friend. She shouldn't be here."

Hope took a deep breath knowing how incredibly loyal Kelley was to her friends. Her little squirrel was not going to let this go. "Can you at least let her know that Christen is okay?"

"But she isn't okay!"

"Kelley." Hope said in a tone that reminded Kelley of a mom that just told her kid to go and apologize.

The younger girl huffed before turning on her heels and stomping to the door.

"What do you want?" Kelley snarled, obviously annoyed and angry.

"Is Christen here?"

"Yes."

"Can I see her?"

"No."

"Please." Julie pleaded.

"No."

"Kelley, please. I really need to talk to her."

"No. I don't know what the hell happened between you two but what I do know is that Christen came here in tears. I also happen to know that she cried herself to sleep last night! Did you know that?"

The blonde was shattered at the news of Christen crying herself to sleep. She never wanted any of this to happen. "I messed up, Kelley, and I need to fix it."

"You're damn right. You fucked up, kid. Now, I don't want you anywhere near my best friend, at least until I hear from her what happened, and maybe not even then. So I suggest you leave before I make good on that promise I made to you if you ever hurt Christen." Kelley threatened.

Hope who was still only a few feet away from them pulled Kelley away from the door and faced the college student. "I'm sorry about Kelley." Hope said before sending a glare in her girlfriend's direction.

"It's okay. I probably deserve the way she's treating me."

"No, you don't, Julie. Not when Kelley doesn't know what actually happened. If she knew, this would be a completely different conversation, but as of now she doesn't."

"So, um, do you think I could talk to Christen?" Julie really hoped that the older girl would say yes.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Hope said trying to let the girl down easy. "I just think that she needs some time to process whatever happened between the two of you. From what I can tell she was pretty devastated and probably needs to vent to her friends."

"I just really screwed up, Hope. I need to explain everything to her."

"Like I said, just give her some time."

A defeated look appeared on Julie's face. She knew Hope was right and even if she wasn't, Julie knew there was probably no way she would be able to make it past Kelley. "Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. Can you, um, can you at least tell her I'm sorry?"

"I'll make sure to pass the message on."

"Thank you, Hope."

"Don't worry about it. Take care of yourself, kid."

"Yeah, bye." Kelley added, slipping under her girlfriend's arm and pushing her away. For the second time that morning, Kelley shut the door before the blonde could say anything. Then she turned to face the former goalkeeper with a pissed off look. "What the hell was that, Hope?"

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Like hell you don't know what I mean. I'm trying to protect my best friend and you literally pushed me aside. Julie needs to know that whatever she did was not okay."

Hope scoffed at the younger woman. "She does know that Kell. That girl is tearing herself up for whatever she did and she wants to fix it. Sometimes you're just so loyal to your friends."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Not at all." Hope sighed. She walked over and grabbed her girlfriend's shoulder so they were facing one another. She didn't want to fight. "I love how protective you are of your friends. It's one of your best qualities. That being said, sometimes you refuse to acknowledge other's feelings when someone hurts someone you care about it. It's understandable but don't forget that Julie is also your friend."

"I just hate seeing Press like I did last night."

The former goalkeeper pulled her little squirrel into her arms, resting her cheek on top of the shorter woman's head. "I know, baby. I didn't like it either, so I can only imagine how you and Tobin felt. But how about we find out what happened so we can help her instead of threatening JJ."

"I think I can do both."

 

* * *

 

Tobin was sitting up with her back against the headboard, glasses on and flipping through her Bible. When she felt a slight shift in the bed, she looked over to see Press slowly waking up.

"Hey. Feeling better?"

"Please tell me everything I think happened last night was all a dream."

The midfielder sighed before closing the book and setting it on the bedside drawer. She waved the girl over, who sat up and leaned into open arms. "I wish I could. You know how much I hate seeing you upset."

Christen sat in silence. The events of last night were constantly replaying in her mind, but she didn't want to sit and cry and more. So instead she allowed herself to enjoy the company of her best friend. "I really missed you, Toby."

"I missed you too."

"You're never allowed to go and live in another country again."

"I won't." Tobin promised.

They sat in silence, not needing words at the moment. The peace and quiet was a nice change that they both enjoyed.

Of course with this being Kelley's apartment, the serenity didn't last long. Kelley came bursting into the room with a unreadable expression that confused the both of them. Usually their freckled friend was more chipper in the mornings.

"Hope is making breakfast. You guys want some?"

"Food sounds amazing." Christen answered, removing herself from Tobin and going to follow her other best friend.

"When doesn't food sound good to you?" Tobin teased, poking the raven-haired girl's stomach.

"Oh, shut up."

When the trio reached the kitchen, Hope was just finishing up with the food. "Morning."

"Morning, Hope." The two newcomers replied at the same time.

They took a seat and waited for the cook before digging in. Throughout breakfast, Kelley's expression rarely changed. A smile or laugh would appear for no more than a few seconds and her best friends were starting to worry.

"Everything alright, Kell?" Tobin asked as she took everyone's plate and walked them over to the sink.

"Not really."

Realizing that her girlfriend wasn't going to elaborate, Hope stepped in. "We have to tell you something." She said looking at Christen. "Julie stopped by this morning."

That quickly sobered Christen up, who had been able to forget about the incident for a few minutes. Immediately she was hit with the reality of the situation.

"Did she say anything?"

"She didn't tell us what happened if that's what you're asking. She wanted to talk to you but I told her it would probably be best to give you some time."

"Thank you, Hope." Christen knew that it was for the best. She needed the time to sort out what happened and how it made her feel.

"Anytime. She also wanted me to let you know that she's sorry."

"I should probably tell you guys what happened."

Tobin returned to her seat next to Chris and laid a hand on top of hers. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's alright, Tobs."

Before she started, Hope excused herself, claiming that this was something that should be done with her best friends. When Christen argued that it was fine if Hope stayed, the older woman waved her off and said that Kelley could give her the short version later.

She proceeded to tell them everything from her date, to Zach showing up, to finding out that Julie lied to her, to her fight with the blonde. The entire time, she willed herself not to cry even when the tears were so close to falling.

Both Kelley and Tobin found themselves constantly switching emotions from sympathetic to anger and back to sympathetic.

"I'm sorry, Chris." Kelley wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"Do you think I rushed into this?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that I've been thinking. I never really questioned Julie wanting to go straight to me from Zach. I was just so happy that she could have felt the same way about me. I feel so stupid now."

"Hey, you're not stupid." Tobin noted, grabbing Christen's hand.

"Tobs is right. You were in love with Julie even before you two got together. Sometimes with love you just forget about any sort of logic or reason. You were too happy to question other possibilities."

"When I'm with her, things are just so different. Sometimes I feel like I just don't see straight when I'm with her."

"That's not your fault. Love tends to blur things for us."

"So what happens now?" Tobin was curious as to what Press planned on doing next.

"Honestly, I'm a little scared to see her." Christen admitted, looking off into space.

"Why's that?"

"I'm just afraid of running straight back into her arms. I'll tell myself not to, but won't be able to stop myself. It scares me a little, the pull she has on me. I don't want to get back with her until I fully work out the whole mess; otherwise I'll just be constantly doubting everything. I just need some time to be able to think without worrying about seeing her."

"You can't really hide from her when you live together. And even if you stayed with me and Hope you're bound me to run into her. You know because we live in the same city and all." Kelley observed.

"I've got an idea." Two heads turned in the midfielder's direction. "You could come to Portland with me for a bit."

"Are you serious?"

"Why not? I've got a place to stay. Change of scenery and almost zero chance of running into Julie." Tobin suggested.

Kelley started bobbing head hand as she juggled the pros and cons. "It's not a terrible idea."

Tobin was getting a little excited about the idea. "I would love it if my best friend was by my side as I start a new chapter of my life with a new team. Plus you could come watch any home games. We can explore the city together and everything. It'll get your mind off of things."

"I don't know." Christen stated.

"Come on. We can make up for lost time when I was in Paris."

The youngest of the three mulled over the idea for a little. She finally came to decision that it couldn't hurt to take Tobin up on her offer. She could think of it as a rejuvenating vacation. "Okay."

"Yes!" Tobin cheered, fist pumping the air. "It's going to be awesome."

"Um, aren't you two forgetting the most important part of this trio?" Kelley asked.

"Were you not listening, Kell? Christen said she'll go."

"I'm not talking about Chris. I'm talking about me." Kelley huffed.

"I mean I guess you could come, if Hope lets you and all."

"Right...Maybe I'll just come watch your last home game. Besides, it'll be nice to have the apartment to ourselves."

"Gross, didn't need to know that."

"Grow up, Tobs."

Christen laughed at her friends antics. "Guess I should get packing."

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen prepares herself for her trip to Portland and has one person to talk to before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Again, thank you for taking your time to read my story. Just a little heads up, the story is about to take a little bit of a turn in this chapter so I hope you're ready for it.

 

After deciding that Christen was going to Portland, Tobin went onto Kelley's laptop and cancelled her flight for tonight in exchange for a flight tomorrow morning for the both of them. Once the flight was booked, Christen told Kelley and Tobin that she would head home and pack and spend the night here so they could leave the next day.

The Stanford grad was glad that Julie wasn't to be found when she got to the apartment because she wanted a little more time to figure out how she was going to tell her. The idea of leaving without telling her had popped into her mind a few times, but she realized that she could never be that cruel to the girl. 

In the meantime, she grabbed her suitcase and began digging in her drawers for clothes she believed would be appropriate for Portland. She was just about finished packing when she heard the front door open and close. She counted down the seconds until the blonde entered the room. 

"Chris." To say Julie was surprised to see the older girl back so soon would be an understatement, especially since she the door was slammed in her face twice when she went to Kelley's house in search of her girlfriend hours earlier. 

Without even thinking, Julie rushed over and engulfed the slightly shorter girl in her arms. Immediately she noticed how the girl stiffened which was completely opposite of how she used to melt in JJ's arms. It was then a few moments later that she noticed the suitcase that Press had packed.

"What's going on? Why are you packing?"

"I'm going to Portland with Tobin." 

"Portland?"

Not knowing what else to say, Christen nodded her head. Slowly she watched the range of emotions being displayed on Julie's face. The one thing she made sure to do was avoid looking into her eyes, knowing that it could possibly be her undoing. 

"Why?" The blonde whispered, afraid of the answer.

"I need time to think all this through."

For the first time since Christen found out, Julie allowed her anger to make an appearance. "You can have all the time you want here! You don't have to hop on a plane going to another state! You don't have to be such a coward!"

"A coward?" Christen tried not to take it personally since she knew that whenever Julie was really nervous or angry, she usually said things that she didn't really mean. However with the roller coaster of emotions she had been experiencing, it was hard not to retaliate. "Like how you were too much of a coward to tell me the truth about you and Zach?"

"That's different. And I still don't know why you're making such a big deal of it."

"It's a big deal because you lied to me! Our relationship was built on a lie and you want me just to accept that? You couldn't even tell me why you felt you needed to lie. I was your best friend before your girlfriend. You should've known that it wouldn't have mattered to me."

Julie moved away from the bed and Christen in favor of pacing back and forth in the middle of the room, where she wasn't tempted to look at the brunette. "You want to know why? I lied because I wanted to pretend that he never broke up with me!" 

"Because you still want to be with him." Christen supplied, effectively stopping Julie in her tracks. 

"I didn't say that." JJ stated, her small tantrum fading. 

"But that's what you meant, isn't it? You didn't want to admit to yourself that the two of you really broke up because that meant that you two were really over?" Christen added, voicing her suspicions. After a few moments of silence, she took a deep breath. "I think we should break up."

The blonde shook her head and took Christen's hands in both of hers. "I don't want to."

"I don't really want to either, but I think it'll be for the best. Maybe what we need is some time apart from one another. Despite what you may be thinking now, you probably need the time to sort out the differences in feelings you had/have for Zach and what you feel for me."

No matter how much Julie wanted to fight and argue with that statement, she knew that Christen was right. She knew exactly how she felt about Christen now, but that didn't mask the impact that her relationship with Zach had on her. 

Press had to constantly fight herself so that she wouldn't cave at the sight of a sad and teary-eyed Julie. Her resolve was crumbling but she knew she had to look into Julie's eyes when saying what she did. "I will never regret falling in love with you, but I think that once we had that chance of being together, I lost myself. I forgot everything else because all I could focus on was my dream coming true. It didn't matter to me how or why, just that it was." 

"What if I don't want to let you go?"

"You're going to have to." Press croaked. 

With nothing left to lose, Julie grabbed Press and pulled her close so that she could kiss her. She poured all of her emotions into that kiss. Julie wanted Christen to know how sorry she was. She wanted Christen to know how much she was going to miss her. And most importantly, she wanted Christen to know how much she loved her.

"Just so you know, I'll be here waiting for you." Julie whispered when they pulled apart. 

Not being able to help herself, Christen stole one more quick kiss before grabbing her stuff and walking out without another word.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Christen found herself in the backseat of Hope's car sitting next to Tobin with Kelley up front with Hope. It took everything in her not to cry after leaving Julie behind in their apartment. But now she had to look at this as a fresh start to find herself again.

Kelley and Christen were saying their goodbyes while Hope and Tobin were unloading the car. 

"You will text me everyday, right?"

"Yes, Mom."

"And Skype whenever possible?"

"You make it sound like I'm never coming back." Christen joked.

"Answer the question."

Press rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Okay, I will."

"I'm just going to miss you. It's been quite some time since we've been separated, except for the holidays, since we met."

"I know, Kell. I'm going to miss you, too." The taller girl pulled her friend into a tight hug. "But you're not getting rid of me just yet."

"I wouldn't want to." Kelley admitted. 

When they pulled away, Christen and Tobin switched so that Tobin could say bye to Kelley and Christen could thank Hope for everything. 

"You'll take care of her, right?"

"You know I will."

"I do. Alright Tobito, have fun in your new league. Keep me updated because I want to come watch. And good luck." Kelley finished with a pat on the back.

"Thanks, Kelley. You're the best."

"I know."

Once the farewells were all said and done, Hope and Kelley got back into the car and drove off with Tobin and Christen waving to them until they were out of sight. 

"You ready for an adventure?" Tobin asked, hand outstretched. 

"You know it." Christen answered, taking Tobin's hand.

 

* * *

 

As they were driving home from the airport, Hope couldn't keep her concerns to herself anymore. "I still don't know if this is the best thing for Christen to do."

"Why not?" Kelley asked from her spot in the passenger seat where she was currently messing with the radio. 

"She's supposed to be going there to clear her head. What if she ends up more confused than before?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." 

"From what you've told me of your college days, do you really think Christen should be going with Tobin to Portland."

It finally dawned on Kelley what Hope was hinting at. "So Tobs and Presi had a crush on each other back in college while the other didn't know. That was years ago, I'm sure they're way past it now."

Hope wasn't so sure.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is. Now you know where I'm planning on taking this story. No clear ending but feel free to comment on what you want or think is going to happen. 
> 
> Also feel free to talk to me about it or anything else you want to talk about on Tumblr. Find me as littlesass.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes all you need is a friend to listen and tell you what you need to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope everyone had a happy holiday! In regards to this story, I'm amazed at all the feedback that I got in the last chapter. It was nice and fun to see how much everyone was for Presston or for Preath. Thank you for all of that! It makes my day to see you all enjoying this. Anyways, here is the next chapter. I guess we'll see where this goes.

Morgan came out of her room the next morning to find her roommate sleeping on the couch. After making them a cup of coffee each, Moe walked into the living room, set a cup of coffee on the table in front of Julie, and then took a seat on the other couch. 

Slowly, Julie started to wake from the smell of the coffee. She sat up and took a sip from the hot mug before turning to her best friend who was looking at her expectantly. 

"We broke up and I was afraid of going to sleep in our room because I didn't want to wake up without her next to me." Julie explained.

Morgan was out of her seat and sitting next to Julie in the next moment. She set her cup on the table and then gathered the blonde in her arms. Julie closed her eyes and for a slight moment pretended that the arms around her were Christen's. But it didn't last long. Moe didn't have the same distinct smell of apples and slight undertone of cinnamon that Christen had. That brought Julie back to reality.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Morgan asked.

"What's there to talk about? I fucked up, Moe. I may have lost her forever." The last sentence came out as a whisper. Julie was still trying to come to terms with the fact that

Christen might not come back to her. 

"Well, why don't you go over to Kelley's and try to fix it?"

"I can't. She's in Portland."

"I'm sorry, what? It sounded like you just said that Press is in Portland."

"I did." 

Morgan blinked a few times. "You mean she just got up and left to Portland? She broke up with you and then ran away. Why the hell would she do that?"

"She said that she needed space to find herself again. She told me that ever since we started dating, she lost herself. Going out of state is her way of rediscovering herself without me interfering." Julie replied bitterly. She respected what Christen wanted to do but she didn't like it. 

"That makes sense. Maybe you should have done that."

Julie cocked an eyebrow and turned to her best friend. "What do you mean?"

"You and Press kind of just jumped into a relationship after you and Zach broke up. Maybe it was too soon. Oh, and by the way, as your best friend I'm hurt and offended that you didn't tell me the truth about your break up."

"You wouldn't be the only one."

Instantly, Morgan knew she shouldn't have said that. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"It's okay, Moe. You have every right to feel that way. I should have just come clean about my break up with Zach, especially to you and Christen. I'm sorry for lying to you."

"I guess I can forgive you since you're my best friend and all."

The blonde pulled the girl into a hug. "And you're my best friend. Thank you for being here for me. You really are the best, Morgan. I don't know where I would be without you."

"I'll always be here for you, just like I know you'll always be there for me."

"Because we're sisters."

Morgan could feel herself getting emotional over the moment they were sharing. It was true, they were long past best friends. They would always take care of each other. 

Finally, after a few pats to the back, they pulled away. "Moe, did I do the right thing?"

"What exactly do you mean by the right thing?"

"I mean, was it a good thing that I let Chris go to Portland or should I have fought for her to stay here and figure things out together?"

The younger woman took some time to think out her answer. "I honestly think it may be for the best that you two took a break. From what you told me about Press needing to find herself again, I get it. Sometimes when you're in love with someone, you fall too hard and lose yourself. When things take a turn for the worse, you find yourself with no idea of what to do or who you are."

"How do you know all this?"

"Because I watched it happen to my best friend and her now ex-boyfriend."

"You mean me and Zach?"

Morgan nodded her head. "There were times where all you could talk about or think about was Zach. When he was off visiting his family or anything, you sort of looked like a lost puppy. It was like you didn't know what to do without him around. It got better when you and Chris became friends, but there still times where you looked absolutely miserable when he was gone. And that one time you two broke up before getting back together, now that was tragic."

"Really?" Julie vaguely remembers Moe and her other friends telling her these things when she was with Zach, but now hearing it again after they have broken up is like a whole new experience. 

"Yeah, it was pretty annoying at times. But once you met Press, it didn't happen as often. It was obvious that even before you two got together that she made you happy."

"She did." Julie saddened at her use of past tense. "Hey, Moe. I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be completely honest with me no matter how much you think it might hurt me." Once the other girl gave a hesitant nod, Julie continued. "Did you think that Chris and I were going to last?"

"Honestly, I didn't really have a lot of faith in you guys at first." Julie's face fell which caused Moe to quickly explain her statement. "Listen, it's not because I didn't think that you two would be good together. Because that's far from the truth, I think you two are just about perfect for one another. I just thought that it was too soon for you to be in relationship. You and Zach were together for so long. This is coming from me as your best friend, I personally don't think you were ready for a relationship with someone else no matter how much you liked them."

"Funny. Chris pretty much said the same thing."

"Guess it's true then." Morgan turned so that she was facing Julie and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Julie, you know I love you and all but you weren't ready for Christen. Maybe you should have tried being single a little and sorting out everything you were feeling. So much was going on. You were no longer in a long-term relationship, you had some sort of feelings for one of your best friends, and it was the first time you really entertained the thought of being with a girl. You should have found yourself and where you stood with everyone and everything before dating Christen."

"You're right, Moe. If only I could go back and fix everything."

"You can't think like that. You have to think of how you are going to move forward and fix everything because everything that has happened has already happened and you can't change that."

"Okay, guess I have some soul searching to do, but that I was too depressing for my morning. Can we talk about something happier?"

"Meghan and I are together." Morgan supplied nonchalantly. 

"No way! Tell me everything."

 

* * *

 

"And here we are." Tobin announced as she opened the door and led them into her Portland apartment. 

"It's nice." Press commented as she dropped her stuff by the door and explored the small apartment. 

"Tobin, is that you?" An unidentified voice called out. Soon the two were joined by another who immediately gathered the midfielder in hug. 

"Hey, Lex. It's good to see you." 

"You too. I'm so happy you're here."

"Me too." Tobin replied as she returned her national teammate's hug. When they pulled apart, Tobin noticed how uncomfortable Press looked watching their little reunion. She temporarily left Alex's side to lead Press to where the striker was. "Chris, I want you to officially meet Alex Morgan. Alex, this is my roommate from college, Christen Press. She's going to be staying with us for a little while."

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you, Alex. Feel free to call me Press, a lot of people do." Christen smiled as she offered her a shy wave.

"Okay, but it really is nice to meet you too. Tobin talks about her college days all the time and your name is always mentioned."

"Oh really?" Christen turned and smirked at the blushing midfielder who was quick to intervene to keep Alex from saying anything else embarrassing. 

"Uh, yeah. Anyways, Chris and I were planning on getting settled in before grabbing some lunch. You want to join us?"

"That sounds fun, but I'm actually heading out to meet up with Allie right now. But maybe the three of us could go out to dinner later tonight."

"Sounds good to me. Sound good to you?" Tobin asked directing the question to Press.

"Yeah, sounds perfect."

"Cool. Well, I'm actually running a bit late so I'll see you guys later."

After Alex left, Tobin and Christen made their way to Tobin's room to put their stuff in. They argued a little bit about their living arrangements. Tobin refused to let Press sleep on the couch claiming that she was a guest and Press couldn't let Tobs give up her bed. In the end, they decided that it wasn't that big of a deal to share a bed. They've done it plenty of times before. 

Once they put some stuff away and freshened up a little, they headed out in search of food. Tobin figured that they could use the exercise after their flight, so they decided to walk around until they found something good to eat. 

As they exited the apartment, Tobin wrapped an arm around Christen's shoulders. 

"Now it's time for me to show you around Portland."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick glimpse of possible Preath. Not saying there is and not saying there isn't. Feel free to leave a comment on what you think about this chapter or head on over to Tumblr and find me @littlesass to talk or anything.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie gets a little visit from someone while Tobin and Christen head out to dinner with Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Again so blown away with the response I'm getting for this story. I love seeing how you want this to end. Thank you for everything. Prepare yourself for this.

"Are you sure that you don't want to join us?" Morgan asked her roommate as she continued to get ready.

"And be a third wheel? Yeah, no thanks, Moe. I'll think I'll just stay in tonight. You and Kling go out and have some fun." Julie answered from her spot on the couch where she was flipping through channels.

"Come on it will be fun."

"Seriously Moe, don't worry about it."  
The doorbell rang and Morgan rushed to the door to answer it, excited to see her girlfriend. She visibly deflated when the woman on the other side turned out to be someone else.

"Wow, nice to see you too, Moe."

"Sorry, Kell. I thought you were Meghan."

"Oh, right. You and Kling are dating now. How's that going?"

"Wait, how did you know? We haven't been dating that long and I know that I didn't tell you."

"You know Morgan, there are these people that some call friends. Usually friends tell other friends things. In case you have forgotten, Kling is my friend too." Kelley answered, teasing the young girl in front of her.

"Right, sorry. Anyways, did you need something?"

"Actually I'm here to see Julie. Is she here?"

Morgan nodded and invited the Stanford grad in. "Julie, Kelley's here." Moe led Kelley into the living room and noticed the tension that rose between the two. Knowing that after the events that took place the other day, she excused herself so that the two could talk. "Meghan should be here soon so I'm just going to wait outside for her."

As Kelley approached the blonde on the couched she gave her a small smile. However that didn't stop Julie from grabbing the closest pillow and shield herself with it.

"Don't worry, Julie. I'm not here to hurt you. You can put the pillow down."

Julie relaxed a little, but didn't put the pillow back down. "What are you doing here, Kelley?"

"I was doing some thinking and realized that I should apologize for how rude I was and for slamming the door on your face."

"Twice."

"Twice." Kelley added.

"What did Hope threaten you with to get you to come here and apologize?"

Kelley looked appalled at the accusation. "I can't be here on my own to apologize to a friend." Julie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine. She told me if I didn't that I would be sleeping on the couch alone. But I seriously do want to apologize, JJ."

"It's okay, Kelley." The younger girl whispered.

"No it's not. Hope was right. I shouldn't have taken everything out on you when I didn't know the whole story."

"But you know what happened now." Julie assumed. Her assumption was correct and verified by Kelley's nod. "Alright. Lay it on me." Julie said as she raised the pillow, preparing herself for a verbal assault or something.

She did not expect for Kelley to take the seat next to her and lay a soft hand on her arm. "Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you. I just came to talk to you."

"You're not mad at what I did?"

"Oh, trust me I am. I'm furious. I still don't think what you did was right, but there's nothing we can do about it now. I just wanted to talk to you about Christen."

"Okay. I'm all ears."

"You know how protective I am of my friends. I would kill for them if I had to. That being said, I just want them to be happy, which Christen was when she was with you. She was happy like that before, a long time ago."

"When?"

"Her last relationship. It didn't end too well."

"What happened?"

"That's not my story to tell. But what you need to know is the way it impacted Christen. She was basically scared to love because of the fear of getting her heart broken again. She dated a few times but they never went very far. There were people who could have made her that happy, but Christen was too scared to even let them try. You are the first serious relationship she's had since and that means something."

Julie stared at Kelley as she absorbed everything she was just told. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know that you are going to try to fix things with Press. I need to make sure that if you do end up working things out, you know how serious this is to her. That means you need to get all your shit together before you try anything. Your second chance is going to be your last chance. I won't let you hurt her again."

"I won't."

"Alright then. I'm going to get going. Hope's probably got dinner ready." Julie got up from the couch to walk the older woman out.

"Thank you, Kelley."

"Don't fuck it up this time, kid. Good night."

After closing the door, Julie reflected on what just happened. It was odd to see Kelley so serious compared to her usual goofy self, but she took in the weight of Kelley's words. She had some things to sort out and she knew where to start.

 

* * *

 

"Alright, ladies. Let's go." Alex said as she, Tobin, and Christen headed out of the apartment to grab some dinner. Alex knew of a real good diner within walking distance, so that's where they were going.

On the way, Alex was filling Tobin in on everything she may need to know before joining the Thorns. Luckily, the midfielder knew of many of the players from previous years in the past women's league. She told Tobin that she would fit right in and how she was coming at the right moment to help lead them to the first championship of the inaugural season of the NWSL.

As Alex continued to describe the players and the environment that Portland had to offer in the realm of soccer, Tobin would occasionally look to Press, who was admiring what the new city had to offer while it was still light out.

"Here we are." Alex announced as they walked in front of a small diner.

Once they stepped inside they immediately felt the cozy atmosphere around them. The next thing to hit them was the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. It wasn't hard for Tobin and Christen to figure out why Alex picked this place.

It only took a moment for one of the workers to come and lead them to a table. Just as they arrived at the table, Tobin pulled out Christen's chair before taking the seat next to her and across from Alex.

After placing their orders, Alex turned her attention to Christen, trying to get to know the girl.

"So Press, Tobin told me that you two went to college together?"

"Yeah, we were roommates at Stanford."

"Alex, went to Cal." Tobin added, smirking at her Thorns teammate.

"Oh really?" Christen asked, one eyebrow raised. "So we have a bear in front of us?"

"Yep. A bear that was never able to beat us."

"You played soccer?" Alex asked the other girl, in hopes that it will keep the two women from ganging up on her and her Alma mater.

"Yeah I played a little in college."

"Please, don't listen to her Alex. Press broke like every offensive record there ever was at Stanford. There was just no stopping her. She was so good. The way she moved with the ball and how she finished her shots. If she was playing for the national team, I bet she would give you a run for your money." Tobin bragged about the woman beside her which was making Christen blush.

"Wait, were you number 23?" When both Tobin and Press nodded, Alex groaned. "Ugh, now I remember you. I remember watching you with the ball from the other side of the pitch and just thought 'Damn, this girl is good' almost the entire time."

The blush on Christen's face grew darker at the compliment. "Thank you."

"Seriously, though. Why didn't you continue with soccer? You obviously had the talent."

"Well unlike Tobin, I was never offered a spot on the youth national teams. Our other roommate, Kelley was called up to the youth teams as well but she had to decline the offer."

"I can't believe you were never called up, though." Alex admitted.

Christen shrugged. "It is what it is. Besides, maybe it was better this way. College soccer was getting really stressful and a lot less fun because of the emphasis my parents put on winning. There was a part of me that was beginning to loathe the sport, but playing in an adult league after college restored my love for the game." She told Alex as the waiter came and set their food on the table.

"That's great, I'm glad things worked out for you. Maybe we can play together sometime and you could give me a few pointers on being a goal-scoring machine."

"That is if you've still got it, Press." Tobin teased.

"You don't think I do, Heath?" Christen challenged.

"Not really. I think you've been out of the game too long."

"Really now?"

Tobin nodded as she continued to playfully press Christen's buttons. "Yeah, probably forgot how to dribble."

"This coming from the girl who somehow managed to meg herself while dribbling around cones in college."

"Hey that was one time." Tobin whined as the tables were turned.

"Twice. You megged yourself twice in the same drill." Christen corrected.

"You told me that you wouldn't bring that up anymore."

"Well I lied. Kelley and I like to tell everyone that once in awhile."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"I'm pretty sure I do."

"Okay, Tobin. You tell yourself that. You and I both know that you love me."

As the two women continued to banter with one another, Alex watched in amusement and slight jealousy. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought the two of them would make a cute couple.

The three of them ended up staying at the restaurant long after they finished eating. Tobin and Press would tell Alex some of the crazy shenanigans Kelley was able to convince them into taking part in, while Alex tried to get the other two to see why Cal was better than Stanford; she, however, was failing miserably. It was almost closing time when they finally paid the bill and left.

Once they stepped outside, they noticed how chilly it really was now that it was dark out. Seeing Christen shiver a little when a breeze blew past, Tobin took off her jacket and offered it to Press. "Here."

"No, I can't do that, Tobin."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. Take it."

"Are you sure?"

Without even answering, Tobin took her jacket and wrapped it around the younger woman herself. "There. Better right?"

"Thank you, Toby." Christen pressed a light kiss to Tobin's cheek.

Alex led the way back to the apartment, not trusting the other two to find their way home just yet. Press and Alex walked side by side as the younger of the two pointed out certain shops or cafes that she would take her to later on. They got along pretty well and were cracking jokes and taking jabs at one another.

Tobin was walking a few steps behind them, taking in the scenery. Every so often her gaze would land on Press. Tobin couldn't help but admire the girl as they walked down the street. The streetlights cast a glow on the younger woman's face that highlighted all the features that Tobin had memorized long ago. Tobin was in awe of just how beautiful Press was.

She began running through her current predicament in her head. She should once again be sharing a room and spending a lot of time with this woman. A woman who just got out a relationship. A woman who just recently had her heart broken by another. The same woman she had a huge crush on back in college and may possibly still have feelings for.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Heath?" Tobin whispered to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment below or talk to me @littlesass on tumblr about what you thought of this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie sorts out her mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm here to warn you that this story is coming to a close in a few chapters. I think some of you will be pleased with this chapter, while others not so much. I just want to let you know that there is still some things to be known, so keep that in mind when reading. This might not be as clear cut as it seems. Enjoy.

"Thanks for meeting me." Julie said as her companion took a seat across from her in the small coffee shop. 

"I'm actually a little surprised that you called. I didn't expect you to."

"To be honest, I didn't want to."

A frown settled on their face. "Then why did you?"

"There are some things I need to clear up and get off my chest. Keeping everything inside has cost me one of the most important people in my life."

"So this conversation probably isn't going to go the way I was hoping, is it?"

Julie looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry, Zach, but no. I didn't call you so that we could get back together. I called you because I need closure."

The man across from her closed his eyes and came to the conclusion that this girl deserved whatever she wanted. He was going to do what he can. "Who did you lose?"

"Christen." Julie answered, willing the tears away because if she wanted to get Christen back then she needed to stop crying and get things done. 

"What happened?"

"She left after she found out that I lied to her. I told her that I broke up with you and not the other way around."

"Well that's stupid." Julie's head snapped up at the comment from her ex-boyfriend. Zach continued to rant a little. "She stopped being your best friend because of one stupid lie. I understand getting angry and everything but actually leaving. I mean of all things to break up your friendship, and it's that. Bit ridiculous in my opinion. I think-"

"She wasn't just my best friend." Julie cut the football player off. 

"Yeah, yeah. The whole she's not just my best friend, she's my sister. I know, Julie."

"No, Zach, you don't." Julie rubbed her hands together and she tried to find the right words to tell him. Not being able to come up with an adequate explanation she just stated it plain and simple. "Christen is my girlfriend. Or at least she was." She trailed off. 

Zach sat there shocked and confused. He rubbed his eyes a few times to make sure that the girl in front of him was actually his ex-girlfriend. He ran his hand over his face as he tried to process this new information. Truth is he didn't see anything wrong with it, but he just wasn't expecting this at all when he got the call from Julie to meet up. 

"So last time I saw you guys..."

"We were together." Julie finished for him. 

"Oh my gosh, I asked you if we could get back together in front of your girlfriend." Zach said, mortified that he had actually done that, even if he didn't know at the time that Julie and Christen were dating. 

Now it was Julie's turn to be surprised. This was not the reaction she was expecting. "Wait, you're not mad about this?"

"Mad? Not really. Should I be?"

"Well no, but I was expecting something else considering you wanted to get back together last time I talked to you."

Zach took Julie's hand in the most platonic way. "I'm not mad, Julie. Upset? A little because I did want to get back together, but I'll get over it." There was a pause in the conversation as they both thought of what to say next. "So Christen broke up with you because you lied to her?"

"I let her believe that I broke up with you because I wanted to try a relationship with her. When we were together, there were times that I had these feelings for Christen. I didn't understand them and I didn't think about them because I had you."

"And when I broke up with you, you wanted to test it out with her." Zach finished. "Why didn't you just tell her the truth?"

"I was scared and confused about these feelings. I didn't understand them but I wanted to face them and figure them out. I didn't want her to think she was a rebound for you. I had genuine feelings for her." Julie finally admitted to someone other than herself.

The few days after Kelley visited, Julie focused on doing some reflecting on everything that happened and all the emotions mixed in with it. With a lot of thinking, she finally came to the conclusion she had just told Zach. 

She was frightened by this uncharted territory. She's never felt something like this for a girl. Being heartbroken about Zach added to the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling at that time. However it was then that she realized that Christen was able to make her happy despite her breakup with Zach. She was able to get her to forget about the pain. Christen was able to make her happy no matter how bad things got in her world. 

It was then that she knew she didn't want to wait to find if this girl was the one. The roller coaster of emotions left her in a state not best for making decisions, yet Julie made a rash one she believed was worth it at the time. Lie about the breakup so that she could finally be able to explore these feelings for Christen without wasting another moment.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Even I don't agree with what you did, Julie. But there's nothing we can do to change it."

"How are you taking all of this so well?" Julie wondered aloud.

The man took a second to formulate his answer. "Two reasons." He held up one hand and started counting. "One, I didn't deserve a second chance since I broke up with you so suddenly without a reason and cut off all contact. That was a dick move on my part. You deserved a reason considering we were together for so long."

"Do you have a reason for me now?"

"I don't have a good reason for breaking up with you, but I can tell you why. First I want to say I'm sorry for the way I went about the break up. I let my teammates get into my head. They kept telling me that things were going to end badly no matter how hard we tried to keep our relationship going. I didn't believe them, but they wouldn't let it go and just kept repeating it to me until I believed it. So I broke up with you and cut all contact in hopes it would hurt less."

"Did it?"

"No, I regretted it the moment it happened. But I decided that if I could let my teammates influence me when it came to our relationship, then I didn't deserve you."

She finally got her reason. Like Zach said, it was a bad reason, but now she didn't need to lose any sleep wondering if it was her fault their relationship fell through.

"You had another reason." Julie stated, not wanting to dwell on the past any longer.

"Oh, right." Raising a second finger, Zach picked up where he left off. "Two, when we were together even before that, you weren't just my girlfriend, you were my friend. I don't care if you're straight, lesbian, bi, etc. Whether or not you're my girlfriend, you are an amazing girl who deserves love no matter who it comes from. I hope you can forgive me for being an asshole and still consider me a friend."

"Hey, you're taking all I threw at you way better than I imagined and you apologized. I forgive you."

"Good because as your friend, I want you to be happy."

"Thank you." Julie checked the time and realized she better get home. "Thank you for talking with me. I really needed to do this. But now I have to go."

"I get it." 

Julie gathered all of her stuff and hugged the man goodbye, because despite what he did, he was one of the closest friends Julie had.

"So if it's not too weird, can I ask since when were you into girls?"

"I'm not into girls, Zach." The football player was now confused, but Julie was quick to explain. "I'm not into girls, just Christen. I think she's it for me."

A smile made its way onto Zach's face. "In that case, then, I hope it all works out."

"So do I." 

The blonde woman made her way out the door and to her car. She needed to get home and start packing before missed her flight.

Julie Johnston was heading to Portland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Presston shippers don't get too excited, we still have to find out what's going on in Portland. Things can still change ;) Let me know what you think in the comments or over on tumblr @littlesass.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin and Christen have a much needed talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I am back with the last real chapter of this story. Don't worry I will be posting a short epilogue in a few days. But until then I just want to thank every single person who has taken this ride with me. I appreciate every read and every comment, so thank you for taking the time to do that. I hope you enjoy this!

Tobin was sitting outside on the balcony, sipping her wine, and taking in the Portland night. Last night, she had gone out with the team to celebrate her first official game with the Thorns in which they tied 1-1 against the Western New York Flash. Tonight she wanted a nice evening at home with some friends. Inside, laughing and telling ridiculous stories were Alex, Allie, Mana, and Christen.

Things between her and Christen were slightly different now than they were before. It wasn't something that was overt or obvious, just something that Tobin noticed. She was aware of whenever Christen was around and how close she was. Her head turned whenever she heard the brunette's laughs. A smile always grew on her face when she saw the other woman smile. It was all a bunch of things that she had always done, but now she was aware of them because she's considering her feelings for the girl.

The midfielder was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard the door open or close until there was someone standing next to her.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey, Chris. What are you doing out here?"

"Thought I would come check on you. You've been out here quite awhile." Christen answered, sliding up next to Tobin so that their arms were touching. Tobin sent Press a smile before turning back. They both stood their in silence as they took in the ambiance of the city around them. "So what are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"Needed some time to myself, I guess. Another part of my life has just begun and it made me think of all the other parts that led up to this, you know."

"I understand. I can tell that you're going to love it here. You've got your fans, you've got soccer, and you've got Alex."

"Alex?"

"That girl has a major crush on you, Tobs. You can't tell me that you've been oblivious to it."

"Don't mess with me, Press."

Press gasped. "I'm not. I'm offended that you would even accuse me of doing so. But seriously, Toby, you haven't noticed?" Tobin shook her head. "She talks about you all the time to everyone and her eyes light up whenever you walk into a room. Like her eyes immediately find you and they shine. And even though we've become friends since I've got here, she sometimes glares at me whenever it's just you and me. I know she doesn't mean to, but it's because she's a little jealous. If we didn't get along so well, I would actually be afraid."

"Why would she be jealous?"

"Because she wants you to spend time with her, you big dummy. I think you should ask her out. You two would be cute together."

"I never said anything about liking her, Chris."

"You didn't have to. Come on Tobin, I've known you for years. It wasn't hard for me to notice the little things."

"Like what?"

"Like how you try to be close to her whenever you get the chance. How you'll carry her stuff to the car without being asked because she's taking too long to get ready. How when your teammates invite you out, you wait for Alex to answer because you'll only go if she's going. How you always let her win at Monop Deal because you don't want her to get upset about losing since she's super competitive." Christen listed with a hint of a teasing smile on her face. "Do you want me to keep going?"

Tobin shook her head. She looked down at the street below her as she comprehended everything that Christen had just told her. She was barely aware of doing those things.

They were things that she just did because it made Alex happy, which confused Tobin even more. "Things are a little more complicated than they seem."

"You two being teammates shouldn't stop you. I know you're probably afraid of things not working out but then having to see each other all the time for work.."

"That's not it."

"Then what is it, Tobin? You like her and she likes you."

"I'm just so confused. Now that you bring it up, I can see that I may have feelings for Alex. But I might also have feelings for someone else." Tobin admitted.

"Who?"

It was now or never. Tobin reached over and took one of Christen's hands in hers. With her other hand she lifted her face so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "You."

Christen's breath hitched at the confession. "Tobin..."

Hearing her name in the tone that Press was using caused Tobin to drop the other woman's hand and walk straight to the chair on the other side of the balcony. She sat down and placed her head in her hands. "I know, I know. It's stupid. We've known each other for years and we're just best friends. And-"

"Hey." Christen interrupted the girl as she squatted in front of the midfielder, waiting for the girl to look up at her. "It's not stupid." Christen stated, waiting for Tobin to acknowledge and believe in her words. The older woman continued to stare down at her lap, leaving Christen to try a different method. "Gosh, what I would have done to have you say that when we were in college."

Tobin's head sprang up. "That's not funny, Christen."

"It wasn't supposed to be. It's the truth. After the whole thing with Vero, you were always by my side, getting me to laugh and smile again. You wouldn't let me be alone even if I asked."

Christen remembered Tobin refusing to leave her side the entire day after the nasty break up. The brunette was curled up in the older woman's side all day while she cried her eyes out. Eventually the tears died down and Tobin resorted to being her goofy and dorky self to get the striker to laugh. And it worked.

"I had like the biggest crush on you back in college. I remember turning down almost anyone who asked me out because I didn't want to get hurt again. But I would have said yes if you had asked."

"And if I asked now, your answer would be..." Tobin was scared to hear the answer.

"No." Christen regretfully answered. "It's not because I wouldn't want to be with you. It's just that things are different than they used to be. We both know that. We've both changed."

"So I'm too late, then."

"Don't think of it like that. Maybe this is how things were supposed to be. You were going pro. You were going to be travelling the world and living in different cities, while I was staying in one place."

"We just weren't meant to be." Tobin concluded.

Christen nodded. "You've got Alex who I can tell you're falling for and I've got Julie who I still love."

"What about these feelings?"

"I think they're lingering feelings we had for each other in college. We never expressed them so they were all bottled up."

"I guess that makes sense."

"No matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend, Tobin. And I'll always love you."

"I love you, too, Christen." Tobin wrapped her arms around the woman in front of her and gave her a tight squeeze.

In the silence that followed, Tobin realized how much lighter her heart felt. Telling Christen and talking about it had helped her confused heart. Press was right, things were different. They were different.

Once they pulled away, Tobin slung one arm over Christen's arms. "So you really think I have a chance with Alex?"

"There's no competition, Tobin."

"Cool." Tobin replied as they began walking back into the apartment. Before Press could open the door, Tobin stopped her. "What happens now?"

"I think it's time I go home." Christen answered. "I've done my thinking and I miss Julie so much. We have some things to work through, but I want us to fix things. Hopefully she still wants to."

"She'd be crazy to let someone as incredible as you go."

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Tobin was the only one awake and she was preparing breakfast for the two brunettes currently sleeping in the living room.

Last night after Allie and Mana left, Christen had informed Alex about her decision to go home. Distraught about losing a new friend so soon, Alex insisted that the three of them had a sleep over in the living room where they talked until they all fell asleep.

Alex was the next to wake up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she trudged into the kitchen where Tobin greeted her with a cup of coffee and a smile. A thank you was exchanged as Tobin went back to the stove and Alex took a seat at the table.

A few minutes later, there was a quiet knock on the door. Alex looked to Tobin shrugged her shoulder, just as confused. They weren't expecting anyone this early. Nevertheless, the forward walked over and opened the door.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, my name's Julie. My friend Kelley said that this is where Tobin Heath lives." The blonde mumbled, less starstruck about seeing Alex Morgan than she normally would have been. She was focused on finding Christen and that was it.

Tobin's ears perked up at hearing at the blonde voice. She turned off the stove and made her way over to where Alex was standing. "Hey, Julie."

"Tobin! Hi, um, is Chris here?" The older woman nodded. "Can I see her, please?"

The midfielder took in the blonde's appearance. She looked like she wasn't sleeping or eating well. She was dressed in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt that was probably a size too big. The fact that she had jumped on a plane without even talking to Christen first was enough of an indication how serious this girl was about her best friend.

"Yeah, come on in. She's right over there." Tobin pointed to the couch and Julie immediately made her way over. Tobin then dragged Alex back to the kitchen so the two of them could have a little privacy. But it didn't work as they couldn't keep themselves from witnessing what was happening.

Julie slowly knelt down next to couch. The blonde reached over and carefully tucked a piece of hair behind the brunette's ear. She continued to stare down at the woman she loved, afraid to wake her up but eager to apologize and make it up to her. Not being able to help herself, Julie gently caressed the older woman's cheek and within moments Christen's eyes were fluttering open.

The green eyes Julie loved so much were shocked to find her sitting there. The owner of said eyes reached one hand out to lay on Julie's cheek. As soon as she realized that the woman was real, Christen launched herself onto Julie.

Without any hesitation, Julie returned the embrace, holding on to Christen as tightly as she could without hurting her. A few tears were making their way down her face because she was not expecting Christen to accept her like this. "Chris, I'm so sorry. I'm-"

"Shhh...We'll talk later." Christen carefully wiped the tears falling down the blonde's face. "I missed you."

"I missed you so much. So, so much." Julie buried her face into Christen's chest as she clutched onto the brunette's shirt tightly, afraid of losing her again.

"Shh...We'll be okay, Jules."

Tobin who was still watching from her spot at the table couldn't help but smile. She looked down at Alex who had snuggled up next to her to where her best friend was reuniting with the possible love of her life.

Maybe this is the way it was supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to those of you who didn't get the ending you were hoping for. I love both couples so much and it pained me to have to choose. Again there will be an epilogue so keep an eye out for that.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments or on tumblr @littlesass.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The happy ending for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is everyone. The epilogue to this story. I had a blast writing this. It was as much of a roller coaster of emotion for me as it was for you. I can't thank you all enough for the support I have gotten from this. I am truly thankful for each person taking time to read this; it means a lot to know that people actually like what I'm writing. Thank you!

"Holiday's ready. Sending it in. Kaihori took a swing. Got a piece. Brian pass. GOAL! TOBIN HEATH!" 

The crowd went wild.

The smile on Tobin's face couldn't be any bigger. Finally, redemption for 2011. She ran in celebration, barely highfiving Carli before rushing over to Morgan Brian. Tobin jumped in the air, holding her hand out for Morgan to take. When her feet landed on the ground, she finally slowed down and allowed her teammates to catch up. 

The middy couldn't remember how it happened, just that it did. Her teammates were surrounding her, offering congratulations and lots of hugs. As they all pulled away to restart, Tobin took a look into the crowd. She spotted Kelley O'Hara and Christen Press in the stand with their arms wrapped around one another as they jumped up and down. They both had matching Tobin Heath jerseys on and were screaming their lungs out. 

Tobin couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She almost wondered who was more excited for her goal, herself or those two goofballs that she called her best friends. Tobin watched as Julie Johnston nudged Christen and pointed to her. The moment that their eyes met, Christen smiled and threw her a thumbs up. Kelley noticed and started chanting. Christen, Julie, and Hope joined in. Soon the entire stadium could be heard chanting "Heath! Heath! Heath!" Her friends were the best. 

Carli was yelling for Tobin to reset, so Tobin sent her friends a wave before setting her mind back on the game at hand. 

Almost 40 minutes later and the game was over. 

"That's it! GAME OVER! THE DROUGHT IS OVER! THE U.S. WINS THE 2015 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP!"

The entire bench including the coaches, rushed off the sidelines and ran onto the field to meet their teammates. Slowly, some players dropped to their knees, tears leaking from their eyes as they are overcome with emotion. Others were embracing one another but they were no better when it came to crying. There was not a dry eye in sight on the U.S. Women's National Team. 

U.S. flags were being distributed around to the players as they wrapped themselves with the symbol of their country. 

Alex quickly found Tobin and the middy found her way into the striker's arms as the striker wrapped the flag around the both of them. Together they turned to where their other friends were cheering in the stands. 

Christen and Kelley were still cheering for Tobin, but it was in between cheering and crying as they saw their best friend achieve her dream. Julie was waving and trying to get Morgan's attention, while also trying to keep the tears at bay. Even Hope had a few tears rolling down her face when she saw Carli waving at her from the field. 

After about 20 minutes, the awards ceremony began. The four in the stands watched as each member of the national team walked up the stage and got their gold medals. The stadium erupted as they saw Christie Rampone and Abby Wambach raise the trophy high into the air. The team played around in the confetti for a bit before getting an official picture taken with the trophy and banner. 

The world cup trophy was then passed on from group to group as they all wanted to document this moment in history. Tobin took a picture with her fellow New Kids, Amy Rodriguez and Lauren Holiday. Then she stole Alex away from Zoe just long enough to get a picture of just the two of them. After passing the trophy off to the next group, Alex followed Tobin as she made her way to her best friends. 

The midfielder was immediately engulfed in a group hug by the four women who were patiently waiting their turn with their new world champion. Alex wasn't left out as they pulled her into the group hug as soon as she was in range. 

Once they all pulled away, they all buried themselves into the sides of their significant others. Tobin looked around her and took it all in. 

Hope kissed Kelley's head while their hands were intertwined in between them. There was a glint coming from their joined hands where Tobin knew Kelley's engagement ring was resting right next to her wedding ring. The two had tied the knot barely a year ago with Christen and Tobin being part of Kelley's bridal party of course.

Christen had her head laying in the crook of Julie's neck as the blonde looked down at her girlfriend with complete adoration. Things had been slightly rocky after they reunited, but it didn't take long for them to find their way back to one another. And even though they knew that they were it for each other, they both acknowledged that they would wait some time considering that Julie did just finish school not too long ago. That however didn't stop Christen from calling up Kelley and Tobin and dragging them from jewelry store to jewelry store. The brunette had a ring sitting aside until just the perfect time to propose. 

Alex had both arms wrapped around Tobin's waist, her own engagement ring sitting upon her ring finger. She had put it back on the second she had come off the field for Christie. Like Christen had said before she left Portland two years ago, the midfielder was already falling for Alex. It took some time for her to finally pluck up the courage and ask her to go on a date, despite the fact that they were practically dating without really being together. When it was time for Tobin to propose, she had to call Kelley and Christen for a pep talk in which they both stated that if she was too much of a coward to actually propose then the two of them would fly out to Portland and kick some sense and courage into her. 

All in all, everything turned out the way it was supposed to be. They were all happy. Their friendship was stronger that ever. And they were able to withstand the tests of time, distance, and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any of you who care, I will continue writing more stories. I'm currently sorting out some things for a Preath story, but that doesn't mean Presston is out of the question. I'm thinking of turning Family Time into a collection of one shots surrounding Presston and their little munchkins, if you all are into that idea. Let me know what you think of that or of this story. You can also find me on tumblr @littlesass. 
> 
> Okay that was really long, but just want to say thank you again. And the it's almost GAMEDAY. Seriously I'm so excited to be going! Hope you all have a great time if you're going too!


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